Twelfth Anniversary Adventure, Part 4

I woke up to the smell of coffee brewing in our little Day's Inn hotel room this morning. I rolled over and looked at the clock, groaning a little when I saw the clock and read 7:07 a.m. Another early morning. Oh well, there was a lot of other stuff I wanted to get up to see and do before we began our drive back home.

Hubby mentioned that he was hungry and wanted to find some breakfast somewhere. Since it was Sunday morning, I wasn't sure that we would find any restaurants open for breakfast. All of the cute little restaurants that we passed by at dinner time were closed on Sunday except for one or two that offered brunch and even that wasn't being served until 10 a.m. So, we got up, got dressed, plugged in a Points of Interest thing into the GPS and were directed a few miles down the road to a Shoney's. I thought all of the Shoney's restaurants had been closed, but was pleasantly surprised to see this one is still kicking.

We arrived at the restaurant, were greeted and seated, and made our way to the breakfast buffet. Now, hubby said he was hungry but I'll be honest with ya'll...I wasn't in the least bit hungry. I was still digesting dinner from the night before! However, since it is breakfast and I knew I'd be getting hungry later, I opted to eat a biscuit or two. I probably shouldn't have done that but... oh, well... live and learn.

Leaving the restaurant, we went back down to the historic district to visit the Fort St. Jean Baptiste museum and state historic site. How very interesting! I learned things about Louisiana history that I don't (or can't) recall ever being taught in high school. I have so many questions now that I feel the need to enroll in a history class!!!

Anyway, we viewed a film and wandered around the museum for a little bit before venturing out to the boardwalk and short hike to the reconstructed fort. It was so quiet at this time of morning that I just knew we were all alone. I was surprised to see a few re-enactors at the fort going about their daily chores.

Tommy, the re-enactor, readies his musket for a firing demonstration.

The fort Church

The barracks, or sleeping quarters, where 8 soldiers would sleep. Looks comfy huh?

After visiting with the re-enactors for a bit, we went by to wander through the American Cemetery which is believed to be one of the oldest cemeteries in the Louisiana Purchase!!! Rumor has it that the oldest surviving tombstone in this cemetery dates back to 1796. This cemetery is also the film location of Shelby's funeral scene in the movie "Steel Magnolias" which was written by a Natchitoches native!!! How cool is that!?

We looked around, smelled the roses that were blooming, looked at the watch and said, "Honey, I've had fun but it's time to go." to which we "pointed the carriage toward the barn and let the horses have their heads".

On the way out of Natchitoches we made a short detour past St. Augustine Catholic Church in Isle Breville. This church has been holding worship services at this location since 1803!! I would have loved to see the inside of it, but it was Sunday morning and people were still there. I'm sure I would look out of place in my tourist clothes with camera hanging from my neck. Maybe next time I'm in the area I'll go in but this time I just opted to get a shot of the front of the church and move on.

Hubby decided to stay off course and instead of getting back on Hwy 1, we took Hwy 71 South to intersect with Hwy 190 East bound before hitting the interstate just west of Baton Rouge.

Ahhh, what a memorable trip! There is so much to see and do in the historic town of Natchitoches and not enough time in a weekend to do it all. However, there will be more opportunities for me in the future and I plan to return this spring to see the big re-enactment at the fort that will be performed the 2nd weekend of March, 2010.

I hope that you've enjoyed reading my journal of our Twelfth Anniversary Adventure as much as I've enjoyed re-living it by typing it all out!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3